Shoemaking



March 11, 1947. L. J. BAZZONI SHOEMAKING File d March 20, 1945 5 sheets sheet l Inventor Lewi azrzpni March 11, 1947.

L. J/BAZZONI SHOEMAKING Filed March 20, 1945 5 sheets sheet 3 Inventor L ewi s rZBazzani March 11, 1947. J. BAZZONII 2,417,042

SHOEMAKIN G Filed March 20, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I Inventor 13 LewiszZ Ba'zzon-i By hi ftorney I March 11, 1947. BAZZONI SHOEMAKING Fild March 20,

1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .Tnventor Lewis tzBaz 20m;

Patented Mar. 11, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOEMAKIN G Lewis J. Bazzoni, Swampscott, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 20, 1945, Serial No. 583,734

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoemaking, and more particularly to the manufacture of prefinished, unattached outsoles and heels and their subsequent attachment to shoes.

In the manufacture of mens shoes it is customary to attach to the bottom of a shoe an outsole which extends the full length of the shoe, said outsole being rounded and finished to the proper size and shape, in accordance with the size and shape of the shoe, after its attachment to the shoe. Heels of mens shoes are usually built up or assembled from a plurality of leather or leatherboard lifts which, after being compressed and breasted, are nailed to the heelseat portion of the outsole of the shoe. The heelseat portion of the outsole of the shoe and the heel, after its attachment, are trimmed to the proper size and shape by the use of a heel trimming machine.

The best grain leather is usually used in the manufacture of outsoles. Such leather, because of military requirements, cannot be obtained in quantities sufficient to satisfy civilian demands and, even though obtainable, is expensive, especially when such outsoles are full size and accordingly are somewhat longer than the shoes to which they are to be attached. Moreover, to finish the outsole and the heel after their attachment to the shoe consumes considerable time and requires the services of skilled operators and is thus much more expensive than the finishing of the heel and the outsole in the stock fitting room before attachment to the shoe.

Objects of the present invention are to reduce the cost of mens shoes and to conserve costly and scarce leather. With the above objects in view and in accordance with a feature of the present invention, a short outsole and a built-up heel for a mans shoe are prefinished separately, the rear end of the outsole having a heel-seat tab which is complemental to and fits in interlocking relation with a recess formed in the breast of the base lift of the heel, the prefinished outsole and heel being assembled in interlocking relation and applied as a unit to the shoe.

By providing short outsoles, the cost of the shoe is materially reduced as compared with the cost of a shoe having a full length outsole. Moreover, the limited supply of expensive grain leather may be used for making a greater number of shoes than can be made when full size outsoles are used. By practicing applicants method hereinafter described in detail, short outsoles and built-up heels may be quickly and efiectively p'refinished and assembled in interlocking relation with each other ready to be applied to the shoe. Such method may be practiced by unskilled help with much greater production than when the corresponding operations are performed by skilled help after attachment of the heel and outsole to the shoe, with the result that considerable saving in the making of the shoe is effected.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows in perspective a die and a block outsole which has been trimmed from a piece of leather by the die;

Fig. 2 shows in perspective a die and a heel base lift which has been trimmed from a piece of leather or leatherboard by said die;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a heel lift to which is secured a rand;

Fig. 4 shows a heel in the process of being built up in a heel lift assembling machine similar to the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 920,457, granted May 4, 1909, on an application filed in the name of George B. Grover;

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing an ejector of the machine illustrated in Fig. 4 and the heel after being assembled in said machine;

Fig. 7 shows in vertical section, partly broken away, a portion of a heel compressing and breasting machine similar to the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,818,142, granted August 11, 1931, on an application filed in the name of Thomas Lund, said machine being in the process of operating upon the heel shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows in perspective a heel receiving die of the machine illustrated in Fig. 7 about to receive the heel of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the heel after it has been operated upon-by the heel compressing and breasting machine;

Fig. 10 shows the heel illustrated in Fig. 9 in the process of having the projecting outside margins of several of its lifts trimmed flush with the outside margin of its base lift by the use of a machine somewhat similar to the trimming machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No, 1,687,576, granted October 16, 1928, on an application filed in the name of Lester S. Macdonald;

Fig. 11 shows the block outsole illustrated in Fig. 1 clamped to an outsole rounding pattern and being operated upon by a machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,078,981,

granted May l, 1937, on an application filed in the name of Ernest W. Stacey;

Fig. 12 is a perspective View showing the rear portion of the outsole receiving side of the pattern illustrated in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing the heel of Fig. 9 and the outsole, after it has been operated upon by the machine disclosed in "Patent No. 2,078,981, assembled in interlocking relation ready for attachment to a shoe;

Fig. 14 shows the assembled heel and outsole of Fig. 13 in the process of being attached to a shoe bottom by the use of a machine similar to the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,384,093, granted September 4, 1945, on an application filed in my name; and

Fig. 15 shows in perspective the shoe after the heel and the outsole have been attached to it, portions of the heel being broken away to show the interlocking of the heel and the outsole.

The invention is illustrated with reference to forming separately a prefinished outsole (Figs. 13, 14 and 18) and a prefinished heel 22 and applying the outsole and the heel assembled in interlocking relation to a shoe 2%.

In order to provide the prefinished outsole there is formed from a piece of grain leather (Fig. 1) by the use of a die a short block outsole 32 (Figs. 1 and 11) having a heel-seat tab 35% which may be described as being of T- shaped outline and which in the finished shoe fits in intedlocking relation in re-entrant recess 38 formed in the breast of a base lift 38 of the prefinished heel. The base lift 88 of the heel is initially formed from a piece of leatherboard or inexpensive leather (Fig. 2), which is of substantially the same thickness as the outsole 32, by a die 12, the recess 38 of the base lift being complemental to the heel-seat tab 34 formed on the block outsole 32.

' The outsole 28 and the heel are finished to predetermined shapes, in accordance with the size and style of the shoe in which they are to be incorporated, by utilizing, in the case of the outsole, the heel-seat tab 85 to position the block outsole 32 on an outsole rounding pattern M (Figs. 11 and 12) used in the machine which is disclosed in said Patent No. 2,078,981 and in which the bloci: outsole is shank reduced, trimmed and finished to outline similar to that of the pattern and otherwise repared for subsequent attachment to the bottom of the shoe by adhesive. The sole rounding pattern ,6 comprises a template plate or jig in which is formed a re-entrant recess 8 identical in size and shape with the recess 88 formed in the unassembled heel base lift 88 shown in 2, the block outsole 32 being positioned lengthwise and widthwise upon the pattern ti t by the registering of its heel-seat tab 88 in the recess The machine disclosed in said Patent No. 2,078,981 comprises a rotary cutter (Fig. 11) for trimming the block outsole to a rough outline, a shank reducing and roughing cutter 52, a cutter 54 for trimming the block outsole to a smooth outline, and a cutter 58 for operating upon the margin of the forepart of the shoe to form a combined beveling and roughing out. Since the construction and operation of the machine is fully disclosed in said Patent. No. 2,078,981, it need only be stated that the outsole positioned upon and secured to the pattern 54 is moved past the various cutters which follow the contour of the pattern as the block outsole 32 is moved past said cutters, the outsole being 4 trimmed to a predetermined outline and the shank and forepart of the outsole being roughened and reduced by the machine, as illustrated in Fig. 13. A divisional application Serial No. 683,484, filed July 13, 194.8, includes claims directed to the above-described method of forming the prefinished outsole 2E).

The base lift 38, which is trimmed to its final size by the die 32 (Figs. 2 and 6), serves as a template in building up and molding the heel 22 and in trimming the heel to the proper size and shape, convex peripheral margins 58 of lifts 57 oi the built-up heel, as will be described later, being trimmed flush with the edge face 59 of the base lift 38 and the breasts or breast margins 66) of the lifts 57 of the heel being trimmed by a transversely concave cut of approximately twoand-one-quarter inches radius extending heightwise oi the heel from one upper breast edge 62 (Figs. 2, 6, 8 and 9) of the base lift to the other.

The various lifts 38, 51 of the heel are assembled, for example, in a machine which is similar to that disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 920/l57 and comprises an ejector 64 (Figs. 4: and 5) the upper end of which is provided with a lug 89 approximately complemental to the rear or re-entrant portion of the recess 38 of the base lift 38 and serves to locate the base lift with relation to a supporting block 68 (Fig. 4). In order to position the lifts 51 of the heel with relation to the base lift 38 positioned upon the lug 68, the machine is provided with an abutment 18 with which the breast margins of the lifts 5'1 abut and side clamps 14 for centralizing said lifts and forcing their breast margins 88 against said abutment. In order to facilitate forming a concave heel attaching face or cup 78 (Fig. 9), the. lift 5'1 adjacent to the base lift has initially cemented to it a rand 18, best shown in Fig. 3. The rand l8 and the lift 51' to which it is cemented together may be regarded as one of the lift Before assembling the various lifts 8'? with the base lift 38 in the above machine, opposing contacting surfaces of said lifts are coated with cement or other suitable" adhesive.

After positioning the lifts 51 as'above explained in the machine, a presser member 80 (Fig. 4) is lowered to force the lifts with considerable pressure against the supporting block 63 and the lug 86, three or more fastenings 82 being driven through the heel lifts then under compression to assist the adhesive in securing the lifts rigidly together. The ejector M is raised by a plunger 8 after the various lifts have been suitably united and the side clamps M and the presser member 76 have been moved to retracted positions, to remove the assembled heel from the machine, said heel then having the form illus-' trated in Fig. 6.

The heel is next compressed and breasted, for example, by the machine disclosed in said Patent No. 1,818,142, the heel illustrated in Fig. 6 being positioned bottom up in the machine with the re-entrant portion of the recess 36 of it base lift 38 in registration with a laterally curved lug 86 (Figs. 7 and 8) formed integral with the convex upper portion 88 of a lower block or die 90. The block 98 is then raised to force the heel thus positioned against a follower plate 92 (Fig. 7) and simultaneously therewith breast and side dies 84, 96, respectively, are forced against the heel. While the heel is compressed, the breastdie 94. is retracted to its forward position, shown in Fig. 7, preparatory to'moving a knife 98 having a curved cutting edge downward in a rectilinear path to breast the heel by a laterally concave cut extending from one upper breast edge 62 to the other of the base lift 38, the heel being initially positioned upon the block 98 with the breast edges 62 of its base lift in approximate alinement with the breast face of said block. When heels of the type herein described are being compressed and breasted in the machine, automatic feed mechanism (not shown) of the machine is removed.

When the heel has been compressed and breasted as above explained, it has the form illustrated in Fig. 9, the convex peripheral margins 58 of the lifts 51 extending slightly beyond. the edge face 59 of the base lift 38. The convex peripheral margins 58 of the lifts 51 may be quickly and effectively trimmed flush with the edge face 59 of the base lift 38 by the use of the machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 1,687,576 modified as illustrated in Fig. 10, the heel being clamped in a holder I08 which is rotatable about and slidable at right angles to an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of a cutter I82, the heel being guided past the cutter with its base lift 38 in engagement with a guide or gage I84. After their final trimming operation, the margins of the outsole and heel are sanded and polished, the finished heel and outsole then being assembled in interlocking relation, as illustrated in Fig. 13.

The assembled prefinished heel 22 and outsole 28 may be effectively attached to the bottom of the shoe 26 by the use of a machine such as disclosed in said Patent No. 2,384,003, said machine being slightly modified to accommodate mens shoes. A last I86 (Fig. 14) upon which the shoe 26 is mounted is placed upon a last spindle I88, the toe of the shoe resting upon a pad H8 and being centralized by gages H2. After cement has been applied to the shoe bottom and to roughened portions of the upper surfaces of the assembled heel and outsole, said heel and outsole are applied as a unit to the shoe, the heel being positioned upon the heel-seat portion of the shoe by the assistance of a gage H4 and the outsole being positioned upon the shoe by the assistance of the toe gages H2. In attaching the assembled outsole 28 and heel 22 to the shoe, pressure is first applied against the heel 22 and the forepart of the outsole by a clamp H8 and a pad H8, respectively, the pad thereafter being moved to apply pressure against the shank portion of the outsole, such further movement of the pad serving when necessary to conform the shank portion of the outsole to the shank portion of the shoe bottom. The shoe with the interlocking outsole 28 and heel 22 attached to it will appear as illustrated in Fig. 15,

6 the heel and outsole being constructed and arranged to stand up under usage as well as outsoles and heels made in accordance with the conventional practice referred to above. If desirable, after the heel has been cemented to the shoe it may be further secured to the shoe by inside or outside nailing.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letter Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of shoemaking which comprises forming a heel base lift having in its breast an outsole receiving recess, securing to the base lift a plurality of lifts while utilizing said recess to position said base lift in a heel building machine, moldingand breasting the heel while utilizing said recess of the base lift of the built-up heel to position said heel in a compressing and breasting machine, and trimming and finishing the convex peripheral portion of the heel to the general outline of the edge face of the base lift of the heel.

2. That improvement in methods of making prefinished, unattached heel-sfor mens shoes which comprises forming a base lift of a predetermined size and shape, attaching to said base lift a plurality of lifts which project beyond the breast and peripheral faces of the base lift, compressing the heel, and trimming and finishing said plurality of lifts to a predetermined outline while utilizing the base lift as a template.

3. That improvement in methods of making prefinished, unattached heels for mens shoes which comprises forming a base lift having a recess in its breast, attaching to said lift a plurality of lifts the breast and convex peripheral margins of which project beyond the base lift, locating the assembled hee1 in a predetermined position in a compressor by utilizing said recess of the base lift, breasting the compressed heel while it is thus positioned in the compressor, trimming said plurality of lifts to a predetermined outline while utilizing the base lift as a template, and finishing the breast and curved pe- 5 riphery of the heel.

LEWIS J. BAZZONI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

